India Hayford

India Hayford is a naturalist, teacher, historical reenactor, artist, and author of both fiction and nonfiction. She is the recipient of the Neltje Blanchan Memorial Writing Award for best work informed by a relationship with the natural world and her debut novel, The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree, was an Arkansas Gems selection by the Arkansas Center for the Book as well as a Publishers Marketplace Buzz Books selection. Her second novel, Days of Sun and Shadow, was a Fresh Fiction Fresh Pick. Her writing on natural history and fiber arts has appeared in various regional and national publications, including Wyoming Wildlife, Threads, and Needle Arts magazine. A member of Member of Wyoming Writers and Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers, she is a regular speaker at the Werner Wildlife Museum, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, the Embroiderers Guild of America, and local historical and arts organizations. She was born in Arkansas, where her family roots go back to the 1830s and her family tree farm still stands in Hempstead County. She now lives with her husband in Wyoming, but she returns every year to visit the hills, swamps, and pine forests of southwest Arkansas.